Empowerment is all about letting go so that others can get goingKenneth Blanchard

Positive Inspirational Stories

Positive Featured Inspirational Story - November 1st to December 31st 2012

Life and Its Legs

'So now you have a farm, two houses, and four cars, correct?' asked Marcelo.

Ivan nodded.

'Well done!' Marcelo smiled amicably to his old friend. 'And what
else have you got? A master's degree from Universidad de Chile, a good
and stable job, and what else? Money, ah, how much money have you got?
More than a hundred million pesos, I suppose?'

Ivan did not reply, but his smile meant a 'yes' to all of the questions.

'And with all of these in your hands, youíre still the first to arrive at work and the last to leave, yes?'

For the second time, Ivan nodded.

'For how long?'

'Three years and a half.'

'Oh, poor Ivan Espinoza,' Marcelo sighed.

For a moment he stopped talking. The conversation that previously
was filled with laughter and jokes suddenly turned itself into a deep
silence. Marcelo gazed over Ivan and tapped his right shoulder tenderly.
An air of confidence was transpired from the light of his eyes, despite
his graying eyebrow. 'My friend, did you see that table?'

'Yes,' Ivan glanced to a table next to them.

'How many legs?'

'Four'

'If you break one of the table's legs, will you have a balanced table?'

'No'

'So is life. It's got four legs: education, money, a job you love,
and a family you adore. If you break one of life's legs, you will have
an imbalanced life,' remarked Marcelo.

Sighing, the man paused for a little while before continuing. 'Now
you have a good job, money, and proper education, but you don't see your
children except when they are asleep before and after work. Is that a
balanced life? You work for your family, donít you?'

'Yes.'

'So why do you work so hard but spend less time with them?'

Written by Subhan Zein

Subhan Zein is a PhD candidate
at the Australian National University (ANU) and he is an English
Instructor at the University of Canberra English Language Institute.
Subhan is the author of Malula, a novel published in his home country,
Indonesia, in 2010. The beautifully crafted and brilliantly enjoyable
fiction is a mind-captivating spiritual journey of Wijaya Kusuma and
Jennifer Frazer, a couple who embark on an everlasting quest of finding
God. Once a political activist and former president of various youth
organizations including PPIA (Perhimpunan Pelajar Indonesia di
Australia/The National Board of Indonesian Student Association in
Australia), Subhan is a man in a new episode of life. He dreams of
becoming an international author.